1982's "Treasure Train" (also known as "Odyssey of the Pacific" and "The Emperor of Peru") emerges from an era when family entertainment provided a little more leeway in terms of political overtones and fantastical encounters. It's an utterly bizarre motion picture, but one made with a certain endearing permissiveness, attempting to give younger audiences exactly what they crave from matinee entertainment while carrying some impressively complex emotions for adults. "Treasure Train" is also a Mickey Rooney movie, permitting the production an opportunity to indulge a zanier side of life, with the screen legend treating his screentime like a vaudeville audition. I'm not exactly sure I understood what director Fernando Arrabal was aiming for with this merging of dreams and doom, but it's certainly an ambitious, agreeably askew cinematic offering.
Siblings Liz (Anick) and Toby (Jonathan Starr) are spending time with their Aunt Elsa (Monique Mercure) and Uncle Alex, having a difficultly dreaming up adventures with duck pal Federico. Into the house comes young Hoang (Ky Huot Uk), a Cambodian refugee joining the family for the summer (as a "vacation friend") before he's placed in a permanent home. Taking immediately to the boy, Liz and Toby invite Hoang to join them as they explore the nearby forest, spending their days bombing around on bikes and enjoying railway picnics. Stumbling upon a handicapped recluse calling himself The Emperor of Peru (Mickey Rooney), the kids soon discover a train hidden behind an empty house. Learning about the Emperor's past skills as a conductor, Liz is determined to figure out how the train works, hoping to ride to Cambodia and return Hoang to his mother, who was likely lost to genocide efforts from the Khmer Rouge. While Toby happily joins the gang in their train education, his thoughts often lean toward fantasy, imagining himself a hero in various scenarios to help conquer his fears.
A French-Canadian co-production, "Treasure Train" carries a distinctly European tone, miles away from comforting Disney entertainment. Here, the kids have genuine problems on their hands, with Haong facing a brutal case of separation anxiety manifesting itself in an Oedipal urge, as Liz interprets the boy's longing as a need to marry his mother. Strong stuff, yet Arrabal carries the weight gracefully, creating a big screen phantasmagoria, highlighting extended forays into daydreaming, while scoring from composer Edith Butler suggests a circus atmosphere in the making, with the trio of children embarking on various adventures into the abstract and the outlandish. It's a peculiar film, yet "Treasure Train" never alienates, keeping on target with gentle experiences that play best to younger viewers, providing a range of slapstick, make-believe, and pathos to encourage participation in the quest to bring the train back to life.
Perhaps the most identifiable element of "Treasure Train" is Toby's extensive fantasy life, with the boy often leaping into his own mind to help color his experiences with Liz, who, admittedly, is a bit of an overbearing bossypants. One can't blame the child for his mental vacations, picturing himself a celebrated race champ (with Federico as his co-pilot) or an intergalactic hero saving a disco space queen from her glass prison. Toby even takes a moment to place himself as a mighty orchestral conductor, quick to replace a broken baton with one of Federico's feathers. "Treasure Train" includes a considerable amount of imagination excursions to help pad the movie, but most are quite amusing, making smart use of Starr's amateur acting skills as the boy encounters larger than life situations of fearlessness.
The Cambodia subplot of "Treasure Train" wins points for its direct execution, but nevertheless remains a pronounced question mark in movie filled with both intentional and unintentional mysteries. With references to concentration camps, abandonment, and a tumultuous boat journey out of Cambodia, the picture attempts to bring an authentic sense of urgency to Hoang's experience, keeping the boy on edge as Liz fills his head with promises of a family reunion. While never crushingly traumatic, Hoang's hurt establishes a bittersweet tone to the feature, with geopolitical concern wedging its way into a picture largely about Rooney's improvisational skills and train rehabilitation. Arrabal visits dreamscapes and silent yearn to make his points about Hoang, providing "Treasure Train" with a few heartfelt moments that challenge the viewer.
Of course, Rooney is the big name here, doing his best to supply Arrabal with the marquee value he paid good money for. Locked into an ornate wheelchair (just ignore those restless legs), Rooney is all upper body in "Treasure Train," mugging up a storm as the good Emperor, a man who offers children cigars and a blowhard figure most of the local population wants thrown out of town. It's a tiring performance, but one that keeps the kids alert. As if Rooney wasn't enough, Arrabal establishes an actual clown occupation in the third act to beef up the story, though the scene never explodes into comic pandemonium as expected. Thank goodness. A little Rooney goes a long way.
The AVC encoded image (1.66:1 aspect ratio) presentation shows surprising signs of life for an obscure cult item pulled from the depths of 1980s. As to be expected with such a fringe title, an effort hasn't been made to clean the print up, with dirt and hair spotted on occasion, while reel changes gouge the source material. Overall, the viewing experience is pleasant but uneven, maintaining the moody cinematography, delivering an image that manages softness and sharpness satisfactorily, sustaining an element of grain that adds some cinematic flavor. Colors are comfortable but appear on the faded side, with a palette that looks fresh when embarking on forest scenes, while fantasy tangents bring about bolder theatrical hues. Skintones look a bit bloodless, but remain natural. Detail is acceptable throughout the movie, best with costumes and train particulars, while character faces provide emotional textures and nuanced clowning from Rooney. Shadow detail isn't rich, but there's a good sense of blacks without clouding over background details or costumes.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix is a concentration of dubbing and ADR work than a truly accurate read of the original audio track. The lip synch is consistently sloppy, which seems to be an unavoidable element of the source material, though the dialogue is never swallowed by the action, making the cast easily understood. There's some mild distortion on voices, which sound too processed at times. The track is on the shrill side, without any real elements of bass, reaching a few peaks of youthful activity and train alarm that sound harsh. Scoring cues sound a touch unstable during a few montages, in need of repair, though overall the music retains a satisfying frontal position, comfortably supporting the fantasy sequences.
Interview with Mickey Rooney (8:24, HD) is bound to disappoint fans of the film, as the 91-year-old star just doesn't have a single memory concerning the making of the movie. The interviewer makes a few attempts to extract morsels of BTS information, but, God bless him, Rooney just didn't do his homework before the chat, often directing the conversation to other screen achievements or talk of educational needs. While it's great to see the legend in motion (the interview was recorded in 2011), there's nothing here that actually touches on the "Treasure Train" shoot.
"Treasure Train" maintains an evocative sense of curiosity, holding itself down to a knee-high view of the world and its unimaginable challenges. The ending itself is an interpretive closure that calls to mind the finale of "Radio Flyer," merging the soaring spirit of imagination with the dark realism of dangerous underage adventuring. It's a surprisingly multi-layered picture, just not one with a rigid structure that limits improvisational shenanigans. One thing's for sure, it's unpredictable, which, for a family film, is a tremendous compliment.
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